The disclosure relates generally to devices and methods useful for the detection of bacteria, and more specifically to sample collection and preparation devices and methods useful for detecting the presence of L-form bacteria within a sample.
The detection of bacterial infections or bacterial contamination within biological and/or environmental samples is an important endeavor for a wide range of applications, including diagnosis of a disease or condition, determining the appropriateness of surgery for a candidate patient, organ, tissue, or blood donor screening, monitoring infectious diseases within a patient or within a population, and public health planning and information gathering, among others.
L-form bacteria, also referred to as pleomorphic, fastidious, intracellular, or cell-wall-deficient bacteria, are strains of bacteria that are normally known to exist in planktonic form with full cell wall structures, but which lack cell walls and/or reside intracellularly when in L-form. L-forms can develop from Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria. L-form bacteria are often difficult to detect within clinical samples, and may be missed by standard laboratory procedures. Additionally, L-form bacteria are often more difficult to culture relative to forms having a stable cell wall. Furthermore, because L-form bacteria often survive in the absence of a cell wall or within a host cell, they may have a role in the formation of some types of bacterial antibiotic resistance.
In a typical screening for infection, blood is withdrawn and held at 37° C. for 5-6 days before being plated and analyzed via Gram staining. In a standard lab test, the blood sample is kept in a rocker during the holding period prior to plating of the sample. Unfortunately, these methods often fail to promote the growth of or detect L-form bacteria present in the blood sample, leading to missed diagnoses and improper clearance for implantations or other surgeries.